[GaryK]

Hi

I have just found this forum and hope that I can get some help / guidance….

Firstly, about me….
Male, 51
180cm/6ft 113kg / 226lb
Living in UK
non-smoker

I have always had issues with sleep (snoring, shouting, sweating, etc), but nothing “Too bad”.
However, late March 2021 I started to feel more and more fatigued every day after having anything between 9 ad 15!!! hours of sleep.
* This started approx 1 week after my 1st Covid jab (AstraZenica). BTW, I am not anti-vax. Curious to hear if others have had similar experience after the vax.

It got to the point where I started dropping off to sleep during the day (working on laptop, sitting in the garden, watching TV, etc) – something that I had NEVER done before. The impact was such that I ended up taking time off work (calling sick and also taking annual leave). Came to an arrangement where I only work as much as I can (sometimes as little as 2 or 3 hours a day). I have never knowingly had COVID, so I would discount chances of being long Covid related.

Had respiratory sleep study which found that I was having more than 80 apneas per hour = severe obstructive sleep apnoea in July 2021. A CPAP was provided in November 2021 and that has been a resounded success in terms of the data where I am often scoring high 90’s to 100 (highest is best) and my apnoeas are consistently below 6 per hour.

I found that I was able to increase my work hours and was within touching distance of returning to full (7.5) hours per day. However, for some reason this started to decline early 2022 to a point where I was again taking time off or working 3 hours per day. I’m not sure why this happened, although possibly a period of conflict at work with a new manager (I absolutely love my job). The manager situation has now been resolved, but my fatigue issues continue.

The frustration of the fatigue got so bad that in April I was sectioned after being talked down from a suicide attempt. We have tried, tried and tried to get help (GP, mental health services, etc), but this is a real struggle and we have been let down & lied to many times.

Over the past week I have been finding it extremely difficulty to get to sleep (yes, I follow usual guidance of pre-sleep prep) and was prescribed Zopiclone 7.5 other the weekend, but it has no effect. It seems that my body has “forgotten” how to fall asleep. I am NOT lying in bed festering, stressing or over thinking. Last night I took the Zopiclone around 10PM, got into bed around 11:30PM. Wasn’t falling asleep, so got up around 12:30AM and back to bed a couple hours later. The last time I noticed that the time was just before 03:00AM.

Now waiting for a call from my GP to see if there is any other meds worth trying such as Benzo’s ( yes, I know how bad they are, but I’d rather take something like that to enable me to sleep rather than becoming suicidal through frustration). BTW, the services will not section me again – despite being a danger to myself or others around me (we’re talking Friday night, extreme agitation, knives, threatening family members, police called kinda stuff)!! And that is what lead to Zopiclone being prescribed.

What I need is something that I can take and be asleep within minutes. A bit like when you have a General Anaesthetic where you can’t even count down beyond the number 7! I know, totally impossible, but I NEED to be able to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow (my wife is an expert at that!).

Looking further forward, I have been referred to neuro for a full polysomnography, but I am not holding my breath on that one. I think that there must be something amiss with my sleep cycles – something that a PSG should be a able to pick up on. Quite what they can then do about any such issues is beyond me at this point in time.

Any help / suggestions?
I’d be particularly interested in hearing if anyone else has had similar long term fatigue issues so soon after being vaxed.

Many Thanks
GaryK

[hiker]

Hi GaryK, wow, it sounds like you are really going through the mill right now.

If you are not testing positive for Covid, I would hazard a guess that you may feel that you’re having a reaction to the vaccine you got last year. I haven’t heard of any side effects persisting that long—however, this is not to minimize at all your feeling that it might be a factor.

I found that when I was hammered from insomnia, that I would think and feel all sorts of things. This can happen even when rested, but I found that exhaustion could really mess with my head. I can totally relate to seriously considering suicide. I think it is a good sign that you are upfront about it. I hope only that you keep trying to get help, even though it sounds like it has been really frustrating. It might help just to acknowledge that you are going through it, you are really tired, but you know what, I’m just going to do the best I can.

If only there was a medication that would guarantee good, consistent sleep. I tried a couple dozen or so. If there were, there would be people lined up for miles/km. And as for an operating room type drug, unfortunately that is not the answer either. I think that led to Michael Jackson’s demise.

I hope you stick with this website. Martin has a lot of material which covers how we react to insomnia, sometimes giving it power over our lives. This is not to deny that insomnia is really tough to deal with. But for what it’s worth, I found that I did somewhat better when I could just say to myself, “OK, I’m tired.” And then, just dealing with the next moment. Not the next five minutes, the next nanosecond.

And when I sometimes thought I could not handle it anymore, I eventually learned there is a huge difference between:

1. I cannot handle this anymore, I am going to kill myself; and

2. I’m having the thought that I can’t handle this anymore. I’m having the thought I am going to kill myself.

Take care, you are definitely not alone in this.

[GaryK]

Hiker – thank you so much for your kind words and advice, it is very much appreciated.

Today I am feeling relatively “stable”, but extremely fatigued. Managed to get hold of some melatonin last night, took 20mg but not sure that it helped much. Still struggled to get to sleep, work up late morning (9.5 hours sleep) and felt exhausted. My understanding of melatonin is that it doesn’t necessarily help you fall asleep, instead it improves the quality of sleep? If anything, it did the opposite – some really vivid and as I call “challenging” dreams were had. Probably why I am so tired today!

There is some good news since I made my first post….
I have a telephone appointment with the John Radcliffe Neuroscience consultant next week. I am hoping that they can arrange for a full polysomnography. This has obviously given me a bit of a lift, knowing that I am now moving in the direction that I feel I need to be heading.

Cheers,
Gary

[Martin Reed]

There’s no evidence that melatonin is helpful for chronic insomnia — it’s another one of those things that we (totally understandably!) try in an effort to create a certain amount or type of sleep. And, as with all cases of insomnia, it’s all the effort that provides insomnia with the oxygen it needs to survive.

Effort to fall asleep.
Effort to stay asleep.
Effort to fall back to sleep.
Effort to feel a certain way.
Effort to fight or avoid certain thoughts.

Without the effort, we have people who sleep just fine — as we can all find evidence for by asking someone without insomnia what they do to make sleep happen!

Best wishes for your telephone appointment; I hope it proves helpful!

—

If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

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